Barnaby Joyce says criminals need ‘redemption’ after Pauline Hanson sacks convicted rapist

Liberal senator James Paterson had called decision by One Nation to rehire Sean Black ‘absolutely extraordinary’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Pauline Hanson says she has sacked the convicted rapist who worked as One Nation’s campaign manager, but accused Coalition MPs of playing “gutter politics” by criticising her decision to rehire him. Sean Black, who in 2018 was jailed for rape and subsequently lost his appeal against the conviction, was initially rehired by One Nation in 2020 as a campaign director after serving his time. He remained employed by the party until Sunday, Hanson said. Barnaby Joyce, the two-time deputy prime minister, supported his leader’s comments on Monday, saying that convicted criminals needed a chance at “redemption”. “If every person [who] goes to jail … if from that point on … there’s no redemption, there’s no chance of any sort of betterment,” Joyce said on Monday. “I can see where this is going to go. People are going to start suggesting all range of people who have had criminal convictions. You know, this is the game that then gets played